Energy Efficiency for Buildings
Nowadays when we discuss Energy Efficiency in Sustainability, we often hear discussions and suggestions on how to reduce the consumption of energy such as switching off the light when not in use, etc. And while this is all well and good, to be truly be effective in energy conservation, what we should focus more on is on the usage; meaning how we efficiently use the energy that is available for use.

Impact of buildings to our environment

According to a report from the International Energy Agency: “… space heating and cooling together with water heating are estimated to account for nearly 60% of global energy consumption in buildings. They therefore represent the largest opportunity to reduce buildings energy consumption, improve energy security and reduce CO2 emissions, particularly due to the fact that space and water heating provision in some countries is dominate by fossil fuels.”

With buildings accounting for nearly 60% of energy usage, it becomes important to make conscientious use of energy. By applying energy efficient methods in constructing buildings, not only is energy saved, but the overall costs will be reduced as well.

Efficiency Tips for Builders

As a good example of smart Energy efficiency for Buildings, the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance website (http://energyefficiency.org) is a good resource for a number of Efficiency Tips to help in the design and construction of residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings with the imperatives of energy efficiency in mind.

Sharing the same belief on the importance of Sustainable Buildings, companies like PFB Corporation remain committed in performing operations that affect social and environmental concerns. Environmental conservation has always been their top priority as reflected in their practices, products and processes.

PFB’s focus for the past several years has been to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by using fossil fuels more efficiently. Additionally, PFB has an initiative underway to substitute raw material inputs with materials that contains less VOC expanding agent. Since 2008, PFB has increased its usage of low VOC raw materials to 80% in 2014. This has resulted in an average annual VOC emissions reduction of over 100 tonnes.

With more and more online resources providing related content, building awareness on energy efficiency for buildings would increase significantly and benefit everyone in the long term.

Are you interested in learning more about sustainability? Check out http://www.pfbsustainability.com for some good insights on what some companies are doing to stay on board the sustainable path.

2018 has arrived! A whole new year tends to mean a whole new beginning. We get to wipe away 2017, and start fresh with our goals and resolutions.

What are your Green Goals for this year? We polled some of our employees and they have some great goals and suggestions for living more green in 2018. Ranging from the simplest solution to begin recycling, to a full on water re purposing system, our participants shed some great light on ideas for how to live green in the coming year.

Here are just a few ideas from our employees on greening up your year!

Air dry your clothes instead of using the dryer. Not only does it save you money on energy, but the clothes will last longer too.

Drive less- instead walk, bike, take public transit, car pool, etc.

Plant a garden and go organic.

Host a green potluck in the summer months where each person brings in a dish made with food from their gardens.

Select an organization and contribute to the organization through work. (For example, have the local boy scout troop collect and recycle your paper)

Go wild at work. If you have an open or unused outdoor space near your work, encourage colleagues to create a wild space there. Native plants might factor into your plan.

Adjust your electronics. Set them on a timer or a schedule to be off when you are not home (lights, heat. etc) The same goes for the office – set up systems to ensure lights, heat and other electronics are off or in sleep mode while not in use.

Use water to your advantage – develop a system that recycles and stores rainwater to be used in your home or work. Rain collection systems can be made from something as simple as rain barrels at the downspouts, to a more extensive system.

Reusable water bottles for all employees to reduce on the waste in the office.

So again, I ask, What are your Green Goals for this year? Going green in your daily life can be as simple as recycling the water bottle or as intensive as electric cars and more.

At PFB, we believe in a sustainable future, and work daily to maintain our sustainable initiative. Join us in our daily efforts to be greener and cleaner!